Woods Hole 5

I managed another opportunity to shoot this beach at Thanksgiving last year. There were strong waves this day, and this shot was taken at the very last bit of direct sunlight hitting the jumble of boulders on the shore here. Although it looks like the open ocean, about 7 miles across Buzzards Bay is Rhode Island. The width of this bay makes this area one of the few spots to get great sunset shots over the ocean.

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Buttermilk Falls 1

Buttermilk Falls is an impressive waterfall in Ithaca, NY. Above the waterfall itself is a gorge containing numerous cascades and interesting rounded pot-holes. This is shot from in that area. I made use of converging lines in this composition.

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Buttermilk Falls 2

One of the many beautiful scenes in the gorge and cascades above Buttermilk Falls. With a scene like this, it is hard to believe downtown area of Ithaca is only a mile away.

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Buttermilk Falls 3

A square-format image of a slender cascade in a sculpted section of the gorge above Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca, NY.

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Watkins Glen 1

Watkins Glen is a fantastic location for photography. There are many gorges in the area around Ithaca that are beautiful, but Watkins Glen itself seems to have the longest stretch of narrow, high-walled gorge. This is Cavern Cascade, one of the tallest waterfalls in the gorge.

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Watkins Glen 2

This is probably the most iconic view in Watkins Glen, showing Rainbow Falls coming on the left into the gorge. This place can be very crowded in the day, and it can be difficult to get a shot like this without people in the shot.

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Ithaca Falls 1

Ithaca Falls is a massive waterfall featuring hundreds of tiered layers that the water cascades over. Even in low water levels, there will be a lot of water going over this one. This shot, however, is of a very tiny part of the falls.

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Cascadilla Gorge 1

The Cascadilla Gorge is right near downtown Ithaca, running roughly parallel to the gorge that Ithaca Falls is in. While it may not have any waterfalls as massive as Ithaca Falls, it does have some beautiful cascades like this.

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Taughannock Falls 1

Here's a classic view of one of the northeast's most impressive waterfalls. Sometimes it is claimed that this is the highest waterfall in the region, but this is not true. However, it may be the highest freefall plunge. This was shot just before sunrise (with the sun behind me and slightly to the left), to use the soft ambient light to illuminate the autumn foliage.

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Taughannock Falls 2

A few at the base of the mighty Taughannock Falls. Well, usually it is mighty. The water flow at the time I was here was pretty weak, so it's been reduced to just a thin ribbon. The autumn leaves collected naturally in the arrangement seen here. Shot shortly after sunrise. A little while later, the direct sunlight began to hit the top and would have been too bright.

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Taughannock Falls 3

Sometimes you come across an unexpected scene that you realize you have to shoot. As I was leaving the base of Taughannock Falls, I noticed the gorge lit by the sun which had just risen, reflected in a slow moving stretch of the outflow from the waterfall.

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Justin Smith Photography

Return to Woods Hole

3/14/2013

Here's yet another shot from my favorite beach in Woods Hole, MA. Almost all of Cape Cod is endless sandy beaches, but this area has shorelines of boulders. At low tide, this beach fully exposes the largest boulder visible in the water here. I came here often as a child, and recall that the area around that boulder was full of huge tidal pools full of crabs, snails, sea urchins, and very rarely small eels.

Warm sunset light on the beach

This was at high-tide, however. A lack of clouds on the western horizon meant some fine orange glow on these rocks. The waves were fairly violent this evening, so I made sure to get a good one in the shot.

This was actually taken back in Thanksgiving of last year, and it's the last time I shot anything. I really need to get back out soon.

- Justin Smith

Site re-design, Finger Lakes images up!

3/10/2013

After far too long of a delay, which was partially extended by a hard drive failure, I have finished redesigning the site. Gone is the old neon green on black. At the time being, the site is mostly functional, but I haven't enabled purchasing of images online.

I would now like to introduce my newest set of images, take back in October last year. I took a trip during the fall foliage season to the Finger Lakes area of New York, particularly around the city of Ithaca. This whole area is quite different from any to be found elsewhere in the Northeastern US. Extremely elongated hills, running for tens of miles, are carved with numerous gorges through sedimentary layers. In between the hills are giant lakes, holding some of the deepest fresh water in the country.

A cascade above Buttermilk Falls

First stop on this adventure was Buttermilk Falls State Park. The main waterfall itself was fairly uninteresting due to low water flow. It had been very dry before this. However, the cascades above were still quite beautiful in the low flow. Above the waterfall, the brook cuts through a deep and narrow gorge, much like in many places in this area.

One of many small falls, enhanced by the autumn foliage, above Buttermilk Falls

There is a lot to see here, many views with small waterfalls and cascades like those seen here. After this, it was time to call it a night, with big plans for the following day.

In many areas you can find intricately carved sections like this

In the early morning the next day, we got up at sunrise and made the drive to Watkins Glen State Park, the highlight of the entire trip. If photographing this place is your aim, you will want to get there early, preferably before they technically open. Later this place becomes crowded with many people.

A graceful waterfall named Cavern Cascade

The trail takes you through the narrow winding gorge, with the walls towering high overhead. At times you pass under the rock and even through one or two tunnels. Sometimes the passage widens with a broad shallow brook, while in other places there is barely enough room to fit the walkway as the water roars through a narrow cleft.

The classic Watkins Glen view, showing Rainbow Falls on the left

Later on in the day, we returned to Ithaca to visit several easy-access locations in the city itself, located right between the main downtown area and Cornell University. They are located in deep gorges, however, and you can occasionally forget that you are in the midst of a sizable city within these places. First, there was a stop at Ithaca Falls, a massive waterfall even in low flow conditions.

A closeup of the details at Ithaca Falls

Ithaca Falls is full of small steps creating a wall of mini-waterfalls. It's a good subject for close-up detail, or for shooting the entire falls. After this, we headed less than a mile down the road to a parallel gorge, the Cascadilla Gorge. This gorge has fewer outright waterfalls, tending to have mostly cascades. Some of them are fairly elegant. If you intend to visit here, beware. When I was here the upper half of this gorge was closed.

One of many beautiful cascades in the Cascadilla Gorge

This marked the end of the second day in Ithaca. The next morning, we got up before sunrise and headed north to Taughannock Falls State Park. This one is quite a beast of a waterfall. It's over 200 ft tall, making it one of the tallest in the state. It turned out that I chose the perfect time of the year to be here. The foliage couldn't have been better.

A view of Taughannock Falls before sunrise

There are several ideal places to shoot here. You should definitely stop by the overlook on the rim. It is a breathtaking view of the high-walled gorge and the waterfall. You can also enter the gorge near the outlet of the brook. It is a little bit over a mile of flat hiking, where you can see the brook running over extremely flat rock slabs. The geology here is pretty fascinating, but I won't go into that. This trail will take you near the base of the waterfall.

Taughannock Falls

And that about does it for this trip. I'd love to return here during an autumn where there has been recent rain, as I still do not have a shot of Buttermilk Falls and several other waterfalls I visited. I should also mention that these images are the first on my new Nikon D800. These images and all further images (unless otherwise noted) will be available in print sizes up to 40x60 inches.